Flappy Cat! Recreating Flappy Bird in Scratch.

Over the past week, the mobile game Flappy Bird has become something of a craze amongst students in our school.

The popular mobile game "Flappy Bird"

Our Year 8 students are currently following an ICT/Computing project to create their own computer games with Scratch. It struck me that the game mechanic for Flappy Bird was very simple (even if the game itself is not!) – and could easily be recreated in Scratch.

A simple script for "Flappy Cat" in Scratch

I worked with some Year 10 GCSE Computing students to develop a basic game mechanic, and then developed it for demonstration with Year 8 classes. Students have really enjoyed testing my (very limited) version of the game, and the connection with a game they already know (and love) has added another layer of engagement to their game-making project.

My version of "Flappy Cat" in Scratch

I believe this is a good example of how we can encourage young people to become creators rather than just consumers of digital content, in a way that is immediately relevant to them.